Kenya National Development Conference Cosponsored by JSPS Nairobi Research Station (May 2010)

更新日:2010/06/20

Held on 3-7 may, a conference themed “Harnessing Science, Technology and Innovation for National Development” was cosponsored by the JSPS Nairobi Research Station and the Kenya National Council for Science and Technology (NCST). Venued at Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, the conference attracted more than 200 participants.

The Kenyan government has established a national development plan, called “Vision 2030” which sets a goal of the nation reaching a “middle-income country” level by the year 2030. Science and technology are considered to be a vital driving force in pushing this plan toward achieving its aim. In that vein, NCST has over the past two years been holding this conference, titled the “National Conference on Dissemination of Research Results and Exhibition of Innovations”, in which researchers from around Kenya gather and report their research results. This third conference in the series updated the progress being made through such domestic research initiatives, while holding a discussion on a view advocated by Mr. William Ruto, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, that middle-level research institutions can play an instrumental role in advancing Kenya science and technology. With a research-cooperation agreement soon to be concluded between JSPS and NCST in the pipeline, the Nairobi Research Station cosponsored this conference. It was the first time for Japanese researchers to give keynote addresses at it. They were delivered by Prof. Tsutomu Fujihara, Mie University, and Prof. Seiji Utsumi, Ochanomizu University.

Mr. Shigeo Iwatani, Ambassador of Japan to Kenya, and Mr. Kilemi Mwiria, Assistant Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, attended the conference’s opening ceremony, while Mr. Ruto attended its closing ceremony.

As a token of appreciation, the JSPS Nairobi Research Station was presented a trophy for its cooperation in so successfully carrying out this event.